An awesome idea. That has already inspired me to get a troop of people together to throw some money in to hiring a plane and getting airbourne around bonfire night. Thanks for the suggestion.

Time from skills test to certificate
 

Nice posts ct. How long did it take from completed skills test till your certificate was issued?

Hi mate. When I got back to the UK I dropped all my completed paper work in to the CAA at Gatwick (thankfully I live 15 mins from there) and my license was probably ready to go within 2 or 3 weeks I think. I can't quite remember how long it was but I don't think it was more than 3 weeks.

Then it was of to Shoreham for a few flights with their instructors, just to get me familiar with UK airspace and radio etc.

Thanks
 

Hi.thanks for your story.am planning to go to florida but id like to visit Air America tho...

Interesting to read about someone else's experience of gaining a PPL in Florida.

I signed up last year with Tailwheels Ect. a nice family owned flight school based then at Winter Haven (KGIF) west of Orlando -they have recently moved to Lakeland (KLAL)

I decided on training with Tailwheels after taking a few discovery flights with other schools. (we have a vacation home in Florida, so it was easy for me on one of my trips over to Florida to "Try before I buy" with flights at other flight schools)
Anyway I signed up with Tailwheels for their 2 weeks accelerated PPL course. And the first thing they did was organise me the Gleim Student kit for me to study back here in the UK in readiness for my next trip over to begin my course.
When I arrived back I was ready to take my FAA written exam and go through the TSA requirement process, and I have to say it was all done by the TSA very quickly and efficiently, I went to Jet Blue at Orlando Airport for my fingerprinting, and I had my TSA authorisation come through in a matter of days, so I was ready to start my flying on board a 172SP my choice of aircraft.
However half way through the second week of training just after my first solo, I had reached a stress level I wasn't happy with, maybe it was because of my age (63) that I could not compute all the information and flying skill requirements quickly enough, but I decided to call a halt to the training and take a break. I really felt I was not going to be ready for my check ride by the end of the week. And if I had scraped through the oral and practical of the checkride to be granted my PPL ticket, I certainly would not have considered myself a safe pilot.

Taking the break was the best thing I could have done, I came home to the UK and continued my studies, I even set up a petty good flight Sim in a spare room to assist me.
I returned to Florida in March/April of this year and continued my training on an hourly basis, I did two weeks during that stay, flying twice a day,I came home for a few weeks then went back in June/July for another 2 weeks of training, I feel much more relaxed doing it this way, I have time to absorb and enjoy what I am being taught.

I am currently on 55 hrs. 6 of them solo, I have done my night dual x/c requirement, and when I go back in September I am scheduled to do my dual long x/c and then my solo x/c and my CFI says I should be ready to take my checkride.

I admire those who can knock out the training in just a few weeks, but it was the ideal route for me, like I say maybe it is an age thing.

Fair play to you. I can understand what you went through as there were certainly times where I felt I was on sheer learning overload. Returning to the US again was simply not a cost or time option for me so I just had to get on with it.

My instructor was excellent and he noticed when I was on overload so made me take a day out here and there to recharge. It was certainly a team effort and we developed a strong working and personal relationship which I think was crucial to getting me over the finish line.

I would most definitely say that an intensive course is not for everyone as it takes masses of stamina, dedication, commitment and hard work and isn't necessarily the correct learning environment for us all, but equally for the right candidates I would say it is an excellent way to do a PPL.

However, as you said, safety is absolute priority and ensuring that the trainee is developing the necessary skills to be a safe pilot is crucial. Any instructor that pushes a student beyond their learning capabilities is not a good instructor.

Good luck with the rest of your training and enjoy.

Hi ct8282,
thanks for sharing Your experience! Interesting read!
So I assume Your training was in august this year?

How was temperature and climate in florida at this time?
I imagine that its extremely hot there in july/august. Did You fly at all times of the day or just early morning and late evening?

EFT PPL Equipment
 

Thanks for sharing your comments! It was really interesting since I'll start my PPL training there this summer!
I would like to have your advises concerning the equipment that is required for the training and also for everything apart (accommodation, etc.)


According to EFT:


I'll buy the books and the CRP-5 computer before training but is it interesting to buy all the other stuff there (cheaper than in Europe maybe?) ?
Do you recommend other things to improve the journey (Ear plugs, Washing powder..) ?
Baptiste

In Ft Pierce there is one pilot supply shop and nothing else for a million miles apart from a super-duper-hyper-mega-mall- a captive market so not necessarily cheaper and he has a limited range of stuff. In hindsight I would have just bought the local stuff ie charts and Faraim book, stuff that goes out of date.